Wedding Guests Billed For No-Show By Bitter Bride and Groom

A Minnesota woman was billed as a no-show after missing a family wedding. Billing somebody for being a no-show at a wedding has got to be the boldest statement you could make to a wedding invitee, and someone in your family, no less. The woman ignited the internet by posting the bill she received online. She isn’t thinking of paying back the wedding party for food she didn’t eat, and instead sought the advice of the internet.

After posting the no-show bill and seeing the response, Minnesota mother Jessica Baker then posted it to the Facebook page of her local news station. She received an even bigger outpouring of response. Many comments expressed that important events often have a percentage of no-shows, and that it’s rude to bill someone for unforeseen circumstances.

Bride and groom send no-show wedding guests a bill http://t.co/Rj4vbdyMmt pic.twitter.com/6x1V7QbVVh

— Scary Mommy (@ScaryMommy) September 30, 2015

Baker didn’t want to miss the wedding, but she had no one to babysit her two young children. Her mom was supposed to play babysitter, but called out at the last minute due to illness. Baker recalled the wedding invitation’s no kids policy and knew she had no choice but to be a no-show. In return, she was sent an itemized bill which added up to $75.90, including charges for service and tax.

Baker told ABC she didn’t think missing the wedding was such a big deal until she discovered the bill.

“We had discussed if we should contact anyone and decided against it because, coincidentally enough, we’d had people RSVP and no-show to our wedding and I knew when I got married I didn’t want to be bothered with phone calls on the day of my wedding. I just assumed, I guess, that we’d let them know the situation later on.”

The wedding was for a couple on Baker’s husband’s side, an extended relative who they barely knew. They only really knew the brother of the bride, who later called them to ask about the no-show, to which they had a chance to explain. But despite the explanation, they were still mailed a bill for the no-show.

Sarah Baumann Rogers, the editor of magazine Minnesota Bride, told Kare 11 how she felt about the no-show bill.

“Under no circumstances should you choose to follow up after the fact…kind of questioning why they couldn’t attend or much less sending a bill.”

She also said that when planning for weddings, plan for no-shows, too.

“General rule is prepare for about 10 percent of overage or underage when you’re planning a big event like that and catering companies are well aware of this.”

But Jessica Baker and her husband were nonetheless billed for crusted fish they never touched. As much as they would have liked to partake in the wedding experience, they couldn’t. Instead of paying the no-show penalty, they are thinking of donating the money to charity and sending the newly married couple the receipt.

No other no-show wedding guests have come forward with bills, so Baker and her husband may have been the only ones missing in action that night, and it was obvious enough to the newlyweds. Weddings are no inexpensive undertakings these days. The newly married couple’s reasoning for sending the bill may have arisen less from spite, and more for economic concerns. The two meals adding up to $75.90 that they billed for could have stayed in their pockets.

In any case, Baker isn’t planning on sending a wedding gift, though she hasn’t totally shamed the couple by revealing their names or any other personal info. But she’ll leave the bill in the trash and remember to be careful about following up on RSVPs, so she doesn’t face getting billed for a no-show again.

[Image via Shutterstock]